My "other" holiday favorite - Chinese-restaurant-style dumplings

[HillWilliam]

These are a dang-great load of work but they're SO tasty. The filling can be made with "whatcha got on the shelf", but I'll give you what I just made this week. I had company in from out of town all week and we wanted something "nosh-y" and filling, something we could construct together over conversation and then eat casually with more conversation.

Some people make turkey, some make tamales. I love fried dumplings.

There are three main steps: preparing the filling, wrapping, then the final cooking. Allot yourself at least a couple of hours because you can't make a little bit and it takes a while to bundle the little packages of toothsome joy together.

The filling can be made from about anything you love. I'll give the recipe I just made. This makes about 50-60 wontons. (That's how many I made this week and not a one went to waste.) They can be made ahead of time, set in the fridge, then fried up at the last minute if you're planning on having guests. They'll hold in a just-warm oven nicely.

The Filling

1 lb lean ground pork (hamburger or meat substitute)
1 bundle of spring onions chopped, tops and all
a sprinkle of cayenne
a sprinkle of five-spice powder
1 small head of bok choy chopped fine (or about 1/3 to 1/2 a small head of cabbage chopped fine - use a food processor for cabbage if you like. You don't want tiny slaw bits, but short, thin strips)
1 quarter-size slice of fresh ginger, minced very fine
(optional) a couple of peter peppers, a hunan pepper, or a jalapeno, minced very fine
(optional but yummy!) 1/2cup of baby bel mushrooms or portabellas chopped small
(optional) a small handful of water chestnuts chopped
(optional) a handful of bean sprouts (fresh is best but canned will do)
several good shakes of dark soy sauce
about 2oz of white vinegar

Don't be afraid to experiment with the filling. I've used tiny salad shrimp and cabbage, hamburger, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, whatever I happened to have in the fridge and on the shelf. The joy is in the construction with friends and later in the eating them with friends. This is a food adventure -- love the journey! If you don't have a certain ingredient, use your mind's taste-buds and be creative. Budget food can be tasty!

In a good-sized pan, fry the pork, onions, spices, and peppers together. Make sure you break the meat apart until it's in fine pieces and done through with the vinegar, soy sauce, onions, peppers, and spices thoroughly blended to spread the flavors. Remember, the contents will have to fit into a very small space and the result will be finger-food.

When the meat is done, toss in the finely-chopped bok choy and reduce the heat. Keep tossing from time to time until the boy choy is cooked down and tender. This doesn't take very long, only a few minutes. Don't use a lot of heat; just enough to steam the boy choy (or cabbage) through. You want the flavors to marry.

When the filling is done, remove it from the pan and drain thoroughly in a fine sieve. You don't want the mixture dripping when you load it into the wrappers.

Wrapping

I use egg-roll wrappers. They're the easiest to handle and easiest to obtain. It takes just a little bit of practice to get that pretty triangle shape you see in restaurants. If yours don't come out "just so" right away, don't fret. They'll still taste just wonderful!

Work at a table where you've got room to spread out. You'll need lots of space. Bring the filling, a work-board of some kind, a cup of warm water (I'll explain in a moment), and the wrappers. Start by cutting the egg-roll wrappers diagonally like a peanut butter sandwich so you've got two triangles instead of a square like /_\ . Move the triangles to the side because you'll need a little work-room.

Take a triangle and point the top away from you like /_\ and put about a heaping tablespoon of filling right in the middle. Take the point that's pointing away from you and fold it down toward you. Dip your fingers in the warm water and just-dampen the top of the wrapper and the two flaps you haven't yet touched. Fold each side-flap over and around the top flap you just folded over (it will go around the back side -- that's right!). You know you've got it just right when the filling doesn't try to poke its nose out the new point that's now facing you. You may have to wet your fingers and dampen the dough in spots to get it to stick all the way around. Adjust the edges so the filling is sealed well inside. You should be looking at a sealed triangle that now points this way \/ . You'll probably have to find a method that fits your own hands and skill level.

There is no "wrong" way except the one that leaves the filling on the outside :)

Set each sealed dumpling aside to dry thoroughly before frying. It only takes a few minutes per. I usually work with two trays: one where dumplings are drying (not touching one another or they'll stick and tear!) and another to stack them up once they've dried. You don't want them dried hard; just back to about the consistency you got them out of the bag, even a touch more so the dough is white in spots. Just barely.

The dumplings could be frozen or covered and refrigerated at this point. I'd suggest separating the layers with freezer paper if you do, to prevent them from sticking together and tearing open when you try to separate them.

Frying

You'll need a deep pan where you can get at least a couple of inches of oil to fry in SAFELY. This is a deep-fat operation. These CAN be fried in less and the result is more like Japanese gyoza (which are equally yummy!) but don't have the crackly-crunchy shells. This is a matter of reflection and taste; both styles are wonderful.

Bring the oil up to about 340 degrees. Have a roasting rack or something big enough to receive and drain the dumplings READY because they only take about two minutes to fry off. Carefully drop the dumplings into the hot oil 3 or 4 at a time (as you feel comfortable to manage) and flip them a few times so they get done and crunchy on both sides. Remove when brown and drain in the receiving pan.

It takes a couple of hours from chopping to wrapping to drying. It only takes a few minutes to fry up 40 or 50 of these puppies. Have hot mustard and soy sauce ready for dipping and dunking.

Enjoy! I just made about 60 of these and over the course of an evening and lunch the next day, three of us demolished the entire pile, they are THAT addictive.

Warning: these are not diet-friendly. As a matter of fact, they are quite diet-surly but that's what makes them so darned good.

[yellerpup]

1. I've never made these at home, but your recipe seems

quite do-able. I always keep the dumplings I buy at our local Asian market in my freezer for a quick appetizer or snack. Just bought makings for tamales yesterday, so that's the next labor-intensive project for me--but after that, these are on my list. Thanks! :hi:

[HillWilliam]

2. They're about equally labor intensive to tamales

which I haven't made in a couple of decades. Nobody here will eat them but me and by the time I get a batch made, I'm too tired to eat them by myself <grin> I guess I stopped making tamales when I discovered dumplings. The last BIG batch I made was when I lived in California and a group of about 7 of us got together. They did the shopping, I did the cooking. I made about 120 and got THREE. Count'em, THREE. Boy, was I pissed!

I made almost 60 this past Tuesday evening and my partner and I split the last 4 this afternoon, still yummy!

There are endless variations on the filling. Maybe some other folks will share their favorites.

And PS: I'm still looking for the perfect steamed soup dumpling recipe, like one where I don't have to start by taking one cow and reducing... Making aspic was never my best skill.

[yellerpup]

3. There is always something special about filled

pastries. I've never tried my hand at steamed soup dumplings, but I'm sure they are impressive to serve. If you're having a turkey for Thanksgiving, you'll have a big batch of bones to make soup dumpling base. The stock I make from turkey always quivers like a bowlful of jelly once it is completely chilled. That way you wouldn't have to start by killing the steer!

I'd be pissed too if I didn't get a share of the goods after I did all the cooking. About 40 years ago, I met a friend of a friend who begged to come to dinner. I didn't know that not only had he just released from prison, but that he had essentially 'grown up' in jail and had no manners of any kind. I put the salad course on the table along with a bottle of salad dressing (I didn't make it myself back then) and went back into the kitchen to take up the rest of the meal. By the time I returned, every last scrap of salad and every last drop of dressing had vanished! He laughed loudly at the expression on my face--evidently, in jail if you don't fight for your portion or stand by to guard it, your meal will be claimed by the hungriest (or maybe that's just dysfunctional--or biggest!) person.

[HillWilliam]

4. At that point

"friend" would have to leave taking "friend of friend" with him. Swiping one entire dish meant for the whole table is bad enough. Having even worse manners to laugh loudly about it is a hanging offense. I was raised by steel magnolias who insisted on gracious dinner and gathering manners.

That turkey stock sounds wonderful. We're working on some chicken stock now that's had 2 or 3 birds run through it already -- getting right! I have some veggie broth to add and reduce. There are a few dumpling skins left over and I just might get brave enough over the long weekend to try my hand at some soup dumplings.

Don'tcha hate it when a craving just won't let go?

[yellerpup]

5. That craving is sort of like an itch...

feels sooo good when you scratch it! As for the churlish table deportment, it's not so easy to usher an ex-con out. Poor ba$%#tard was trying to teach me how not to get left out. Child was raised by wolves, as they say, although I'm pretty sure wolves have better manners. :rofl: Too bad he didn't have steel magnolias to show him the ropes. Your soup dumplings are going to be incredible!